22 Chewing alone? The transformations of qat consumption in Yemen
-
Laurent Bonnefoy
Abstract
Rooted in long-standing social traditions, qat consumption became widespread in Yemen from the 1960s onwards, to the point of becoming a national ‘institution’. Beyond the question of its disastrous health and economic effects, everyone agreed it enhanced social and political ‘fluidity’ and was a strong socialisation agent. This ‘symbol of being Yemeni’ acts as a powerful agent of socialisation and politicisation, especially among youth. The places where qat is consumed may also be seen as gateways to protests since they are also where information is exchanged, opinions are formed and decisions are made. During the 2000s, however, the deepening economic and social crisis disrupted traditional qat-related practices, particularly among youth. Whereas it used to signal a break or the completion of the working day, it seemed in the last decade to compensate for the absence of paid work, or even replace it. Some youngsters have begun chewing alone. Particularly among students, there has been an individualisation of qat consumption during exam periods since studying is structured around the ingestion of the stimulant. Often idle, at times confronted with the increasingly anonymous nature of big cities, young people are changing their habits as their consumption takes on a new, less recreational and collective meaning. But by ‘chewing alone’ more and more frequently, like Americans ‘bowling alone’, are these young people normalising the drug, transforming it into a mere narcotic whose effects in terms of socialisation are dulled by the promise of a few hours of escape?
Abstract
Rooted in long-standing social traditions, qat consumption became widespread in Yemen from the 1960s onwards, to the point of becoming a national ‘institution’. Beyond the question of its disastrous health and economic effects, everyone agreed it enhanced social and political ‘fluidity’ and was a strong socialisation agent. This ‘symbol of being Yemeni’ acts as a powerful agent of socialisation and politicisation, especially among youth. The places where qat is consumed may also be seen as gateways to protests since they are also where information is exchanged, opinions are formed and decisions are made. During the 2000s, however, the deepening economic and social crisis disrupted traditional qat-related practices, particularly among youth. Whereas it used to signal a break or the completion of the working day, it seemed in the last decade to compensate for the absence of paid work, or even replace it. Some youngsters have begun chewing alone. Particularly among students, there has been an individualisation of qat consumption during exam periods since studying is structured around the ingestion of the stimulant. Often idle, at times confronted with the increasingly anonymous nature of big cities, young people are changing their habits as their consumption takes on a new, less recreational and collective meaning. But by ‘chewing alone’ more and more frequently, like Americans ‘bowling alone’, are these young people normalising the drug, transforming it into a mere narcotic whose effects in terms of socialisation are dulled by the promise of a few hours of escape?
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Contributors ix
- Foreword: Arab youth inside out xiv
- Note on translation xvii
- General introduction: Deconstructing stereotypes: interwoven trajectories of young Arabs 1
-
General introduction
- I Living in the present 17
- Introduction 19
- 1 ‘Go ahead, burn your tyres!’ 22
- 2 ‘Just watching the time go by’ 33
- 3 Coffee shops and youth sociability in Abu Dhabi 43
- 4 From TV soaps to web dramas 53
- 5 The buyat 57
- 6 From jihad to Sufi ecstasy 67
- 7 The Faculty of Education of Lab‛us 77
- 8 ‘A man, a real man!’ 88
- 9 Long-distance supporters 93
- 10 Commentary in Arabic … or in Tigrinya? Football fans and the search for free television broadcasting 101
- II Rooting the future 107
- Introduction 109
- 11 Drinking in Hamra 112
- 12 The end of a world? Shifting seasons in Lejnan (Algeria) 121
- 13 Finding Baghdad 128
- 14 Two brothers 133
- 15 In Massada Street’s coffee shops 139
- 16 In the shade of the khayma 150
- 17 Recreation, re-creation, resistance 160
- 18 Taranim and videos 170
- 19 ‘My identity is becoming clear like the sun’ 180
- III Constructing oneself 189
- Introduction 191
- 20 ‘A room of one’s own’ 194
- 21 A different way of being a young woman? Self-defence in Cairo 198
- 22 Chewing alone? The transformations of qat consumption in Yemen 208
- 23 Gulf holiday-goers in Europe 212
- 24 In SOS Bab-el-Oued 217
- 25 Leaving the camp 227
- 26 ‘Rainbow Street’ 235
- 27 Brahim 242
- 28 ‘Bnat lycée dayrin sexy’ 250
- IV Speaking out 261
- Introduction 263
- 29 ‘A bad day for Ammar’ 266
- 30 A new social world? Young Syrian activists and online social networks 276
- 31 Stand up 285
- 32 The café in Jadu 289
- 33 From consumerism to political engagement 293
- 34 When walls speak 300
- 35 Art under occupation 308
- 36 ‘The instinct of rap’ 318
- 37 Rocking in Morocco 323
- 38 Alexandrians in fusion 336
- Index 347
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Contributors ix
- Foreword: Arab youth inside out xiv
- Note on translation xvii
- General introduction: Deconstructing stereotypes: interwoven trajectories of young Arabs 1
-
General introduction
- I Living in the present 17
- Introduction 19
- 1 ‘Go ahead, burn your tyres!’ 22
- 2 ‘Just watching the time go by’ 33
- 3 Coffee shops and youth sociability in Abu Dhabi 43
- 4 From TV soaps to web dramas 53
- 5 The buyat 57
- 6 From jihad to Sufi ecstasy 67
- 7 The Faculty of Education of Lab‛us 77
- 8 ‘A man, a real man!’ 88
- 9 Long-distance supporters 93
- 10 Commentary in Arabic … or in Tigrinya? Football fans and the search for free television broadcasting 101
- II Rooting the future 107
- Introduction 109
- 11 Drinking in Hamra 112
- 12 The end of a world? Shifting seasons in Lejnan (Algeria) 121
- 13 Finding Baghdad 128
- 14 Two brothers 133
- 15 In Massada Street’s coffee shops 139
- 16 In the shade of the khayma 150
- 17 Recreation, re-creation, resistance 160
- 18 Taranim and videos 170
- 19 ‘My identity is becoming clear like the sun’ 180
- III Constructing oneself 189
- Introduction 191
- 20 ‘A room of one’s own’ 194
- 21 A different way of being a young woman? Self-defence in Cairo 198
- 22 Chewing alone? The transformations of qat consumption in Yemen 208
- 23 Gulf holiday-goers in Europe 212
- 24 In SOS Bab-el-Oued 217
- 25 Leaving the camp 227
- 26 ‘Rainbow Street’ 235
- 27 Brahim 242
- 28 ‘Bnat lycée dayrin sexy’ 250
- IV Speaking out 261
- Introduction 263
- 29 ‘A bad day for Ammar’ 266
- 30 A new social world? Young Syrian activists and online social networks 276
- 31 Stand up 285
- 32 The café in Jadu 289
- 33 From consumerism to political engagement 293
- 34 When walls speak 300
- 35 Art under occupation 308
- 36 ‘The instinct of rap’ 318
- 37 Rocking in Morocco 323
- 38 Alexandrians in fusion 336
- Index 347
